§ Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ Whether they are giving priority to cases involving family reunion in Britain, for asylum-seekers generally and for individuals given "exceptional leave to remain" in particular.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)My Lords, all cases of family reunion are dealt with as quickly as possible, but consideration is dependent on other competing priorities.
§ Lord HyltonMy Lords, I thank the noble Earl for his reply. However, is he aware that during the past year at least two asylum-seekers, having been prevented from having a family reunion, committed suicide? Is he further aware that it may take seven or eight years for a person who is granted ELR (exceptional leave to remain) to achieve family reunion in Great Britain? Will the noble Earl persuade his colleagues to study both the Helsinki Final Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child so that such cases involving children can be dealt with more quickly?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I am aware of the two instances to which the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, referred. Clearly, it is very regrettable when anyone commits suicide, especially in those circumstances. With regard to the convention on the rights of the child, the principle in Article 10 is accepted. It is important that the noble Lord should realise that an asylum-seeker has no entitlement to settle here. Once an asylum-seeker is granted asylum, he is entitled to have his family with him. However, if he is not given asylum but is given exceptional leave to remain, he must then show that his stay here is permanent. That is the reason why such people very often have to wait for about four years before they can bring their family to this country.
§ Lord RentonMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that although there are genuine compassionate cases, and some perhaps of the kind mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, the principle of family reunion has sometimes been regarded as a way of circumventing our immigration system?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, my noble friend is right. If we allow such persons to bring in their wives and children before they have been admitted as refugees, that would open the way to abuse of the immigration system. That is why even those who have acquired exceptional leave to remain must show that their stay here is of a permanent nature.
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, can the Minister say in how many cases it has eventually turned out that a person granted exceptional leave to remain was not entitled to bring his family with him, even though the immigration authorities had so admitted the children improperly?
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, I know—
Earl FerrersWell, my Lords, if the noble Lord knows the answer, why did he ask the question in the first place?
§ Lord AveburyMy Lords, I did so for the simple reason that the Minister is trying to pretend that the immigration rules are being flouted or in some way infringed by people who are being granted exceptional leave to remain. I wanted to demonstrate to the noble Earl a fact of which he is, apparently, unaware; namely, that there are no such instances.
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I said in reply to my noble friend Lord Renton that if people with exceptional leave to remain were entitled to bring their wives and children to this country, there would be the possibility of abuse of the immigration procedure because very often the purpose of ELR is that such people have already been here for so long that it would be unfair to send them back. I also said that they must be permanently settled here before they bring their wives and children. If that were not so, there would be an abuse of the system.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, perhaps we can turn to an aspect of the matter which the Government will not seek to claim is an abuse of the immigration system. Is it not the case that the Government agreed last year that 1,000 Bosnian heads of families, with their dependants, would be allowed into this country under a special admissions system? Can the Minister tell the House how many of those families have in fact been admitted under the system? Further, can he tell us whether there has been any change in the guidelines since that humanitarian announcement was first made?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, the situation regarding Bosnia is clearly different. We have tried to be as accommodating as we can with regard to the situation there. However, the Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Hylton, concerned bringing wives and children into the country in the circumstances he mentioned in his Question. Those are different to the circumstances referred to by the noble Lord, Lord McIntosh.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeyMy Lords, the Question refers to asylum-seekers generally. Can I not have an answer to my question about how many Bosnian families have entered the country under the procedures that I have referred to?
Earl FerrersMy Lords, I shall certainly find out how many Bosnian families have been affected by the 1493 procedures the noble Lord referred to, although that is not part of the Question on the Order Paper. However, I shall pass that information to the noble Lord.